Emotional Abuse of Children: Issues for Intervention

402 Pages·2013·10.41 MB·English

Emotional Abuse of Children:
Issues for Intervention
by Celia Doyle
A doctoral thesis submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of
the University of Leicester
1998
UMI Number: U105B03
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
Dissertation Publishing
UMI U105B0B
Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
EMOTIONAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN: ISSUES FOR INTERVENTION
AUTHOR: Celia Doyle
ABSTRACT
This study is an examination of the emotional abuse of children, where it is the main or sole
form of abuse. The ultimate aim of this applied social work project is to make a contribution to
intervention in cases of psychological maltreatment.
Intervention lacks credibility without some definition of the problem and an understanding of
its prevalence, location and manifestation, as well as an appreciation of the type of intervention
required. At the outset of the current project, an exploration of professional concerns, the wider
context of child abuse and a review of the relevant literature revealed that, although defining
emotional abuse has been partially addressed, there are substantial gaps and deficiencies in the
knowledge of the prevalence, location, manifestation and intervention relating to emotional
abuse. In order to facilitate intervention, these deficiencies were addressed in the current project.
Both quantitative and qualitative data was required in order to address different aspects of the
issues to be explored. Triangulation was therefore an integral part of the design, information
being obtained from three sources: semi-structured interviews with child protection
professionals, a population survey and in-depth interviews with adult emotional abuse survivors.
The main outcome of the study was an increase in empirical knowledge in the areas of deficit
and, consequently, a contribution to credible intervention. Specifically, a suggested operational
definition and an indication of prevalence were both provided. Emotional abuse was found to
occur in a broad range of families although it was more frequently located in those exposed to
multiple stressors. It was most clearly manifested through behaviours which constituted a misuse
of power. Concerning intervention itself, a notable contribution of the study was the
identification of important life-lines for emotionally abused children. These provided the children
with unconditional, positive regard and countered their sense of isolation and rejection.
WORD COUNT: 100,006
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW i
Rationale i
Identifying the Issues ii
Objectives vii
Structure of the Thesis vii
Theoretical Perspectives viii
Terminology ix
Conclusion X
CHAPTER 1. CHILDREN AND EMOTION 1
Social Construction of Childhood 1
Modem childhood 2
Children’s Needs 7
Children’s Emotional Development 11
Emotion as a social constmct 14
Overview 15
CHAPTER 2. HISTORICAL AND POLICY CONTEXTS OF
CHILD ABUSE 17
Historical Context 18
The Roots of abuse 18
The ‘rescue’ model of intervention and state protection 20
The medical model and emergence of procedures 22
Difficulties and dilemmas 25
The ‘discovery’ of sexual abuse and intervention re-evaluated 27
Change and the Children Act 1989 31
Present procedures for dealing with child abuse 32
Ecological theory 34
Necessary conditions 36
Social Policy Contexts 37
Four welfare models. 38
Overview 40
CHAPTER 3.THE CURRENT DEBATE ON EMOTIONAL ABUSE 43
Terminology 44
Issues of Definition 45
Abuse or neglect 45
Intentional or unintentional harm 46
Sustained ill-treatment or a single episode 48
Present or future harm 49
Children’s or parents’ behaviour 50
Wide or narrow definitions 53
A comprehensive definition 54
Prevalence 56
Location 57
Social and Cultural Contexts 58
Type of child 59
Manifestation 61
Parental behaviour 61
Children’s response 63
Intervention 64
Overview 67
CHAPTER 4. THE RESEARCH DESIGN 70
Methodological Considerations 71
Applied social work 71
Aspects of the objectives 72
Researching sensitive topics 75
Theoretical framework 75
Funding 76
Data Sources 76
Data Collection Methods 77
Samples 79
Register cases 79
Population sample 82
Survivor interview sample 84
Measures 86
Register cases: key worker interview schedule 86
Population survey: questionnaire. 95
Survivor interviews 99
Ethical considerations 100
Register cases 100
Population survey 100
Survivor interviews 101
Procedure 101
Register cases 101
Population survey 103
Survivor interviews 104
Data Analysis 104
Missing data 107
The Independent Judge 107
Identifying ‘Emotionally Abused’ Groups 108
Register cases 108
Population survey. 109
Presentation of Findings 111
FINDINGS
PREFACE: SAMPLE PROFILES 113
Register cases 113
Population survey 114
Survivor interviews 115
CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS: EXTENT OF EMOTIONAL ABUSE 116
Definitions 116
Register cases 116
Population survey 117
Identifying the Emotional Abuse Group 118
Self-definition of being emotionally abused 119
Negative emotional experiences 121
Carers’ responsibility 123
Damaging nature of emotional abuse 123
Emotional abuse as the main form 125
Happy versus unhappy childhood. 126
Other Distress 127
Bullying 127
Discrimination 128
Separation and loss 128
Uncertainty about responsibility 129
Categorisation of each sample group 129
Prevalence of other forms of abuse 129
Sexual abuse 130
Physical abuse 130
Neglect 131
Overview 132
CHAPTER 6. FINDINGS: LOCATING EMOTIONAL ABUSE 135
Type of Child 135
Gender o f subj ects 136
Age of subjects 137
Birth/bonding problems 140
Ordinal position of subject 141
Family Profiles 142
Family size 142
Ages of parents 144
Partnerships and caregiver changes 146
Social support of isolation 151
Cultural heritage 153
Class dimensions 155
Potential Stressors 156
Economic status 156
Accommodation 158
Socio-economic deprivation 161
Physical disability issues 162
Learning disabilities 164
Mental health 164
Substance misuse 165
Bereavement and loss 168
Parental experience of childhood abuse 171
Stressors: an overview 174
Overview 180
CHAPTER 7. FINDINGS: MANIFESTATION OF EMOTIONAL
ABUSE 182
Parental Behaviour 182
Categorisation process: register cases 185
Types of abusive behaviour 185
Responsibility 197
Determining responsibility 198
Responsibility identified 200
Manifestations in the Children 201
General indicators 201
School career 208
No evident ‘harm’ 211
Overview 212
CHAPTER 8. FINDINGS: INTERVENTION 214
Referral Information 214
Person or agency responsible for referral 214
Reason for referral 218
Interventions Offered or Imposed 221
Types of interventions 222
Numbers of interventions 229
Removal and legal intervention 231
Registration 233
Evaluation of Practice 234
Working in partnership 234
Anti-discriminatory practice 235
Subjective evaluation of intervention 236
Population survey and survivor evaluations 239
Life-lines for Children 240
Family members 241
Schools 243
Friends 243
Professional help 244
Religious groups 245
Non-human life-lines 245
Overview 246
CHAPTER 9. REVIEW AND IMPLICATIONS
FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE 249
Overview of Issues Relating to the Project Design 249
Overview of Findings 254
Definition 254
Prevalence 257
Location 260
Manifestation 264
Intervention 267
Tertiary/residual intervention 269
Secondary/institutional intervention 271
Primary/developmental intervention 275
Conclusion 277
POST SCRIPT: TOWARDS A PRACTICE GUIDE 281
FOR INTERVENTION
Part 1. Recognition 282
Introduction and definition 282
Power issues 282
Intent 282
Cultural aspects 283
Emotional distress 283
Determining the presence of emotional abuse 283
Part 2. Intervention 292
Registration
Describing and communicating abusive behaviour
Children in need 293
Providing assistance 293
Challenging oppression 293
Lifelines and supports for children 294
Summary of intervention 294
Appendices
APPENDIX 1: Inquiry Reports 305
APPENDIX 2: Interview Schedule 307
APPENDIX 3: Population Questionnaire 312
APPENDIX 4: Practice Guide Evaluation 318
APPENDIX 5: Discriminant Function Analysis: Supplementary
Information 325
REFERENCES 329